Hezbollah

The Gaza Strip is a 141-square-mile Palestinian enclave located near Israel’s southwestern tip. After the Israeli withdrawal in 2005, the coastal territory has been under the control of the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group. Hamas has launched several significant attacks against Israel from its base in Gaza, including in 2008, 2009, 2014, 2021, and most recently the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists murdered over 1,200 Israelis, wounded over 12,000, took 134 hostages, and thousands of rockets.

Here’s a primer on more than a dozen proxy terror groups that have taken their orders from the Iranian regime, threatening civilian lives around the world.

Fears are increasing of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terror group in Lebanon, or other terror groups operating in the country, such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, of opening a second front against Israel in the north amid the Israel-Hamas War.

AJC, together with the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) produced a fact-based analysis that makes the case for full designation.

On this week’s AJC Passport, we spoke with Mark Dubowitz about the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran deal and with Dr. Matthew Levitt about Lebanon’s recent elections and escalating tension between Israel and Iran.